potatoes

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by barely run, Sep 1, 2008.

  1. barely run

    barely run Junior Member

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    I got a bit carried away with ordering seed potatoes from diggers. I have to do above ground beds because of heavy soil and have put in a 6 bale straw bed for some of the potatoes, the advice on a cage set up was 4 seed potatoes in a sq metre cage...I'll need about 10 cages at that rate. Has anyone planted more intensively and been sucessful.
    Thanks
    Cathy
     
  2. JoanVL

    JoanVL Junior Member

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    Re: potatoes

    I've got heavy clay soil, but I riddled it and added compost plus rotted chook manure. I planted the normal way, in a garden bed, heaping more soil round as the spuds grew. We are currently enjoying the nice King Edwards from part of that bed.

    I have another lot of spuds, which I planted in rolled down chook pellet bags with the bottoms cut out. As the spuds grew I rolled up the bag and added more soil. I'll shortly be trying the first bag, which is fully rolled up, and the leaves are yellow and dying. I'll let you know the results in a couple of weeks. (I'm leaving them alone till we've eaten the spuds mentioned above)
     
  3. barely run

    barely run Junior Member

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    Re: potatoes

    How many seed potatoes per bag?? I may be able to get some bags from the produce store, and what is riddled?
    thanks
    Cathy
     
  4. IntensiveGardener

    IntensiveGardener Junior Member

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    Re: potatoes

    cathy,
    i'd be inclined to put at least 5 per cage.
    Use offset spacing for maximum use of space.
    i.e one seed per corner and 1 in the middle, like on a dice.
    I usually plant spuds about 25cms apart and get reasonable results. I live in an area

    with deep, rich, red soil which is renoundfor its ability to grow good spuds though.
    The closer you plant them the more nutrients and water they will need. You should get

    higher yeilds per meter though which should easily make up for the extra inputs.

    Also spuds can be grown on heavy soil quite well. An easy way to do it is to loosen the

    soil a bit with a fork, place the spuds and some old manure or organic fertilizer on

    top, then cover with at least 30cms of straw.
    You should get some kind of yield and it will also improve the soil a little.
    cheers,
    IG
     
  5. JoanVL

    JoanVL Junior Member

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    Re: potatoes

    I used one potato a bag...they were just left overs we'd forgotten to use, which had started sprouting. I think I should have poked holes in the bags though.

    Riddling is sieving the soil. I found a big riddler under my son's house when he moved in, but you can just use the front guard of an old pedestal fan. If you are planting, say, a tree, dig your deep hole and pile the soil up. Then fill the hole back, through the fan guard, shaking it like a gold prospector with his pan. It will soon be full of rocks, which you chuck away, and the soil going back in the hole will be much better than lumpy soil full of rocks and sticks.

    Never try to riddle wet clay soil though; it just lumps up and won't go though. (I discovered this the hard way)
     
  6. barely run

    barely run Junior Member

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    Re: potatoes

    Thank you all for the advice. think I'll try all ideas seeing as i've got heaps of seed to get through.
    Cheers
    Cathy
     
  7. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    Re: potatoes

    cathy,

    have you had a look at our instant potato patch, might be some answer in that once harvest is gone you get your lawn area back somewhat improved and rake up the mulch for the gardens.

    len
     
  8. barely run

    barely run Junior Member

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    Re: potatoes

    Looked at Len's instant potatoe patch. Well I'll try a couple of bags if i can get some and then just go with ground planting and hilling up. i have plenty of room just that very heavy black soil........get those chooks going to give me plenty of chook poo straw
    Cheers
    Cathy
     
  9. barely run

    barely run Junior Member

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    Re: potatoes

    Well with all the valuable advice from here and the current Earth Garden (lots on potatoes) i should have a bumper crop.........fingers crossed.
    Cheers
    Cathy
     
  10. Muddy

    Muddy Junior Member

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    Re: potatoes

    G'Day Cathy
    I must have missed something because I have no idea what you mean by a "cage".
    I grow all the potatoes I need every year by planting in no dig gardens.
    It is a very simple thing. I buy a 56kg sack of seed potatoes. I collect enough paper and cardboard to cover the spud beds. I lay out the cardboard, place the seed potatoes on top about 30cms apart and cover with cane mulch. Fertilize with some cow poop and wait for rain.
    I've never heard the term "riddling" and have no idea what the "bag" you refer to is. What I do know is I can feed my family and the neighbours every year with no effort at all.
    I grow all our vege requirements and I find spuds by far the simplest and most rewarding crop to grow.
    Cheers, Willow.
     
  11. barely run

    barely run Junior Member

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    Re: potatoes

    hi Muddy
    I am getting to be well informed on the theory of planting potatoes hope it translates into a bumper crop. At the start i looked at straw bale beds...as a surround on a no dig bed...cost here of the bales $42 so not a good option for 6 beds...the cages are chicken wire around 4 star pickets a metre square again fill as a no dig bed...again 4 star pickets $24 (no old ones around anywhere) and i have some wire left over from the chook pen. The guidelines said 4 seed potaotes per cage so again would need a few cages. The bags were the same pinciple but using old feed bags...roll down the tops and pull up as you add more mulch. cheaper idea and I think I could use garden rubbish bags...no humidity here .. so i think I'll try that option. I'll go mainly the way you do and that's the same as Len's, I thought spuds on the ground had to have loamy free draining soil which is exactly what my soil isn't. I expect the cage idea would be tidier but as I have plenty of room I should be able to keep it reasonable. What about shade...I have a large area that gets afternoon shade due to high pine trees on the boundary.
    Cheers
    Cathy
     

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